General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL

28 January 1997

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

Fifty-first session
Agenda item 100
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/51/609)]
51/58. The role of cooperatives in the light
of new economic and social trends
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 47/90 of 16 December 1992 and 49/155 of
23 December 1994,
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the status and
role of cooperatives in the light of new economic and social trends, 1/
Recognizing that cooperatives in their various forms are becoming
a major factor of economic and social development by promoting the
fullest possible participation in the development process of women and
all population groups, including youth, older persons and people with
disabilities, and are increasingly providing an effective and
affordable mechanism for meeting people's needs for basic social
services,
Recognizing also the important contribution and potential of all
forms of cooperatives to the follow-up to the World Summit for Social
Development, held at Copenhagen from 6 to 12 March 1995, 2/ the Fourth
World Conference on Women, held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September
1995 3/ and the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(Habitat II), held at Istanbul from 3 to 14 June 1996, 4/
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-
General on the status and role of cooperatives in the light of new
economic and social trends;
2. Urges Governments, relevant international organizations and
the specialized agencies, in collaboration with national and
international cooperative organizations, to give due consideration to
the role and contribution of cooperatives in the implementation of and
follow-up to the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development,
the Fourth World Conference on Women and the United Nations Conference
on Human Settlements (Habitat II) by, inter alia:
(a) Utilizing and developing fully the potential and
contribution of cooperatives for the attainment of social development
goals, in particular the eradication of poverty, the generation of
full and productive employment and the enhancement of social
integration;
(b) Encouraging and facilitating the development of
cooperatives, including taking measures aimed at enabling people
living in poverty or belonging to vulnerable groups to engage on a
voluntary basis in the creation and development of cooperatives;
3. Encourages Governments to keep under review the legal and
administrative provisions governing the activities of cooperatives
with a view to ensuring a supportive environment for cooperatives, so
that they can make an appropriate contribution to the attainment of
the goals of national development, including that of meeting the basic
human needs of all;
4. Invites Governments, relevant international organizations,
the specialized agencies and national and international cooperative
organizations to continue to observe annually the International Day of
Cooperatives on the first Saturday of July, as proclaimed by the
General Assembly in its resolution 47/90;
5. Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources,
to continue to support the goals and objectives of the cooperative
movement and to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth
session, through the Commission on Social Development, a report
containing, inter alia, information on legislative and administrative
initiatives taken by countries, bearing in mind possible measures to
improve the reporting procedure;
6. Also requests the Secretary-General to ascertain, in
cooperation with the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of
Cooperatives, the desirability and feasibility of elaborating United
Nations guidelines aimed at creating a supportive environment for the
development of cooperatives and to include his findings and
recommendations in his report referred to in paragraph 5 above.
82nd plenary meeting
12 December 1996
Notes
1/ A/51/267.
2/ See A/CONF.166/9.
3/ See A/CONF.177/20 and Add.1.
4/ See A/CONF.165/14.

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